Mind Over Mayhem (10 Feb. 1974)

The director of a government institute that employs various scientific geniuses commits a clever murder. But another kind of genius is on the case: Lt. Columbo.

Director:

Alf Kjellin

Writers:

Steven Bochco (teleplay), Dean Hargrove (teleplay),

Stars:

Peter Falk, José Ferrer, Lew Ayres

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
José Ferrer	...	Dr. Marshall Cahill (as Jose Ferrer)
Lew Ayres	...	Dr. Howard Nicholson
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Neil Cahill (as Robert Walker)
Lee Montgomery	...	Steve Spelberg (as Lee H. Montgomery)
Jessica Walter	...	Margaret Nicholson
Lou Wagner	...	Ross
Arthur Batanides	...	Murph (as Art Batanides)
Darrell Zwerling	...	Motel Manager
Charles Macaulay	...	Farnsworth
John Zaremba	...	Coroner
William Bryant	...	Fields
Bert Holland	...	Whitehead
Ed Fury	...	Plainclothesman
Jefferson Kibbee	...	Jeff

Storyline

Dr. Marshall Cahill is the director of a government institute that employs various scientific geniuses, including the elderly Dr. Nicholson, who knows that Cahill's son Neil has plagiarized a dead man's theory of molecular structure. When Nicholson threatens exposure, Dr. Cahill murders him and cleverly makes the killing look like the job of a heroin junkie who needed his fix. But clever or not, another kind of genius is on the case: the rumpled, redoubtable Lt. Columbo.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | think tank | heroin | scientist | file cabinet | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1974 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Alverno High School - 200 North Michillinda Avenue, Sierra Madre, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min 76 min (dvd release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Perhaps the most unusual "guest star" in the entire "Columbo" series is the robot who is programmed to provide Marshall Cahill with his alibi. Robby the Robot is best known for having starred in the Sci-Fi classic Forbidden Planet directed by Fred M. Wilcox, as well as in "The Twilight Zone".

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Quotes

Lt. Columbo: Oh, think tank! Oh, I read about that in the paper. Yeah, that's, uh, that's a place full of geniuses, right?
Dr. Marshall Cahill: Well...
Lt. Columbo: Right. Uh, may I ask, sir, uh, just what is it that YOU do here?
Dr. Marshall Cahill: I'm the director.

User Reviews

An excellent, well though mystery.

I found myself completely interested in this film from start to finish, it was really great. Peter Falk once again proves to be one of the definitive TV detectives. The story concerns a dead scientist, and it's a well made adventure from there on out. If you like Columbo, see this, NOW! You can't miss this.